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Comment by mi100hael | Hacker News Reader

I really struggled to get through it. There's something about the rich guy from England now living in SF who went to Columbia using phrases like "oh snap" and quoting Public Enemy that just feels fake and obnoxious.

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Ditto, I also struggled with it. I really, really didn't like the book (but really wanted to). Since then he's a standing example for my own ad hominem thinking, as in I have to keep reminding myself to separate the person from the point they're trying to make. Embarrassed to say I've never met him but can't stand him.

I agree. But i think it was not meant to be read like a roman rather than a reference book. :) Which makes it hard to read it like roman - storyline missing.

You might be interested to know that 'roman' is a False Friend (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend). You probably mean to use the word 'novel.'

Thanks for pointing this out. The parent comment suddenly makes sense.

> You might be interested to know that 'roman' is a False Friend

What is the source language?

Could be Russian.

french, maybe others

And English borrowed the term roman à clef from French:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_%C3%A0_clef

German has that word.

I know it's in Japanese, and according to my EN-JP dictionary they got it from British English at some point. Maybe it's just archaic English rather than false English?

I'm German.

Ah dammn it.. you got me! :D

Thanks!

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